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Turn live web search on or off

The globe under the Plexii box turns live web search on or off for a conversation. Web results are cited alongside your own sources and open in Plexii.

Pro and Team plansUpdated

Plexii answers from your own work first. With live web search on, it also searches the web for each question and gives you the results it used as numbered sources, next to your documents and desks. The globe under the box you type in shows whether web search is on for the conversation you are in, and turns it on or off.

Turn it off when a question is only about your own work, or when you want an answer drawn from your workspace and nothing else.

Before you start

  • Pro and Team plans include live web search.
  • Plexii needs AI to run. See AI credits and where your AI runs.
  • Your computer needs to be online for web results. If the web cannot be reached, Plexii still answers from your workspace.

Turn web search on or off

  1. Open Plexii and go to the conversation you want to change.
  2. Find the globe in the row of controls under the box you type in, beside the conversation mode button.
  3. Click the globe.

When web search is on, the globe is lit in the accent colour. Its tooltip reads Web search is ON for this conversation — substantive turns search the live web. Click to turn off.

When it is off, the globe shows with a line through it. Its tooltip reads Web search is OFF for this conversation — answers use only your workspace. Click to turn on.

How the setting is kept

  • It belongs to the conversation. Turning the globe off in one conversation leaves your other conversations as they were. The choice is saved with the conversation, so it is still the same when you come back to it later.
  • A new chat starts with web search on. The choice you made in another conversation does not carry over. You can set the globe before you send the first message, and the new conversation keeps it.

What you will see

When Plexii searched the web, the trace above the answer has a line such as Searched the web · 3 results, after the line for your workspace. Each web result shows the site's icon and its domain.

Web results are numbered in the same list as your workspace sources, so a marker such as [4] in the answer can point to a document or to a web page. Click a web source to open the page in Plexii's browser panel, beside your work. See See what Plexii read: the trace and citations.

When Plexii does not search the web

Even with the globe on, some messages do not go to the web:

  • Very short messages, such as a quick "thanks" or "and the next one?", answer from the conversation and your workspace only.
  • Discovery mode, when you are answering Plexii's questions about an idea. Replies like "something calm and minimal" skip searching altogether. A real question, or a message that refers to your own desks or documents, still searches. See Explore an idea with Discovery mode.

In either case the trace simply has no web line. It never claims a search that did not happen.

Tips

  • Ask a full question. "What are the opening hours for the State Library this weekend?" searches the web; "hours?" does not.
  • Plexii prefers a site's own page. When a business or venue has its own website, it is ranked above listing and review sites, which are still shown when they are all the web has.
  • Turn the globe off for private planning. An answer drawn only from your workspace is easier to check, because every source is something you own.

Common questions

I can't see any web sources. Check that the globe is lit for this conversation. If it is, the question may have been too short to search, or the conversation may be in Discovery mode. Your computer also needs to be online.

Does turning the globe off stop Plexii searching my workspace? No. The globe controls the web only. Plexii still searches your own work.

Where do web pages open? In Plexii's browser panel, inside PlexiDesk. See Browse the web inside PlexiDesk.

Is web search the same as the Search mode? No. Search sends what you type straight to your search engine and shows the results page. Web search, the globe, lets Plexii read a few results and cite them in its answer. See Auto, Search and Ask: choose what Enter does.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].